The U.S. Coast Guard has reopened a 10-mile stretch of the Mississippi River above Head of Passes late Sunday after determining it to be safe for navigation.

The reopening will allow the Carnival Elation cruise ship to proceed as
scheduled to the Erato Street cruise terminal in New Orleans overnight,
said Carnival Cruise Lines spokeswoman Joyce Oliva. However embarkation
for the next cruise will be delayed to 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Monday, and the
ship will depart at 7 p.m.

The delay will not impact the ship's scheduled itinerary, Oliva said.

"Survey operations are ongoing in an effort to locate the sunken 48-foot tug boat C-Pec between mile marker eight and Head of Passes," said a news release issued by the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard's Vessel Traffic Service Lower Mississippi River will oversee traffic management measures to ensure safe navigation.

The Army Corps of Engineers completed two survey passes from mile marker eight to mile marker zero above Head of Passes without identifying navigation hazards, the Coast Guard news release said. Contracted survey vessels conducted channel centerline surveys from mile marker zero through Southwest Pass below Head of Passes to the Gulf of Mexico, also without finding navigation hazards.

However, the Coast Guard Captain of the Port of New Orleans has reopened the segment from mile marker zero to mile marker 10 only to one-way vessel traffic. That implements a traffic resumption plan that was developed jointly by the Coast Guard, corps and pilot associations.

The first transits of the 10-mile stretch will be conducted by three shallow draft vessels. Deep draft vessels will coordinate their movements with the Vessel Traffic Service, pilot associations and the corps, which oversees the navigation channel.

"Shallow-draft vessels that do not normally navigate the deep draft channel are encouraged to transit the area at slowest safe speed with extreme caution and adhere to any instructions from the survey vessels on VHF-FM channel 67," the news release said.

The search for the sunken tug will continue, using sonar surveys conducted by vessels from the corps, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and six contracted vessels. The surveys also will verify the safety of conditions along the edge of the channel.

The Coast Guard said the cause of the tug capsizing and sinking on Saturday remains under investigation.

The river closure on Saturday forced the Carnival Conquest to divert to the Alabama Cruise Terminal in Alabama, where it docked at about 1 p.m. Sunday. Passengers were provided bus transportation to New Orleans or the option of remaining on board for a day, if necessary because of air transportation scheduling.

Passengers expecting to board the Conquest in New Orleans on Monday will be bused to Mobile for a 5 p.m. departure. The Conquest was forced to reduce this week's Caribbean cruise to six days, with passengers provided the option of accepting a refund of a day's fare or the ability to cancel their trip.

The closed river also delayed the arrival of 22 cargo vessels that were expecting to travel upriver on Sunday, and the departure of 28 vessels awaiting access to the Gulf of Mexico, Coast Guard officials said.